Spitting Distance

We've taken some good leaps forward in the last week and a half since my last post. I'm happier now, though I did say last night that IF this remodel doesn't finish quickly, I'm going to start killing people. One person each day until it's finished. Todd said I sounded like a Bond villain. I responded that villains are people too, and probably people whose kitchens and laundry rooms are being remodeled. This is bringing out the best in everyone.

Aaaanyway.... it's been a bit of good, bad and ugly around here. With no further ado, the good first:

Possibly, this should have been ugly. Oh well. The good part is that ... do you see any green kitchen chairs in here? NO. No, the chairs have been banished to the landing upstairs. That's where they should have been in the first place, but more on that later. Literally everything about my living room is better in person than this picture would have you believe. Seriously.

Moving on. Into the reno part of the house. This is a pocket door, on which I installed pocket door hardware with minimal complications. Mostly. There are always complications. I might be a dedicated DIY-er, but between us, I am really not all that good at it.

Behind door number one, we have...POWDER ROOM!! No, the mirror will not be indefinitely positioned awkwardly next to the toilet. I nabbed that mirror on crazy clearance last spring, something like $20 marked down from $70, and it fits the space perfectly.

This is the sink. Not only was it the very cheapest sink Home Depot had ($54 for base and sink) we got the pedestal marked down because it was the display model. The whole shebang cost something like $48 when all was said and done.

Also the faucet, which is the Price Phister Ashfield (something of an icon right now) in Tuscan bronze or some other equally pretentious-sounding finish, was acquired on clearance from Lowe's. $100 instead of $160. I was cruising past the bathroom section one Saturday morning and noticed a bunch of vanities with my favorite yellow tags. So I enquired as to why this particular faucet was $100, and could it come home with me? Indeed it could, and they threw in the hoses for free!

All it cost me was a half hour trying to return the non-display model, which I now know is a very complicated process when you 1) have bought two items, one of which was a display, 2) you do not have your receipt, 3) you do not have your phone to pull up the receipt from your email, and 4) you tell the nice lady helping you it was purchased during the month before you actually bought it. This allows you the opportunity to go to Lowe's twice on a Sunday the week before Christmas, which is time when sane people stay inside and well away from the hordes. Anyway, worth it.

 Light fixture. Milk glass shades. Interesting, dark-gray brushed nickel finish. Missing two bulbs.

 I did laundry. In my own house. Last night. I liked it so much I put two more loads in tonight. Additionally, that little magic box in the wall...it's an electric heater. And it's lovely.

Back to the kitchen. This is the pantry. Microwave is off the counter, which is fabulous. Other than that, I'm only marginally satisfied with the organization, and I expect that I'll have to tinker with it to get it functional. PS, Bed Bath & Beyond is for suckers. Organization items from the dollar store. For one dollar, I got essentially the same (admittedly somewhat less sturdy) things that cost $15 at BBB.

Glassware, put away. Most of it anyway. I have collected a fair amount of glassware in the last seven years. Wedding sets, several-years-after-wedding-I'm-sick-of-wedding glasses, miscellaneous... But most of it has a home now!

 This is ONE of the lazy susan base cabs. You can be jealous. I would be.

 Bookshelf for cookbooks, scale and other "soft" kitchen stuff. Counters not finished here yet.

Dishwasher. She's not that beautiful wrapped in plastic, but you just wait. Front handle not yet installed, but the controls are on the top, so it has a clean front. Didn't think that was going to happen, but we snagged a good deal on it, and it's really well rated. Whirlpool.

Fridge in place and oh, I love it so much!!!

This is one of three pieces of Christmas decor I have up right now. It's a swag from my late Nana's Christmas collection.

 Awful pictures aside, it's really pretty and I'm glad to have a bit of her in the house.

Next, the bad. Are you confused? Well, this is confusing. Because this picture should be all kinds of good. The faucet and sink LOOK amazing. Unfortunately, this is only part of why we buy faucets. What's the other part? To get the water where you want it. Which this does not do. According to the plumber, it leaks, so I am in the process of getting a replacement over a month after the return policy expired. I'm trying to get them to overnight it to me, because...it's not my fault they made a beautiful leaky faucet. We shall see.

Bad, not pictured: hot water heater, which was putting out suspiciously lukewarm water on Saturday afternoon when we got back from Bend. Said water got progressively colder as it ran, which is the absolute wrong progression for water temperature...well, any time, but most definitely when it is freezingcoldDecemberIcan'ttakeashower kind of weather. Plumber is supposed to come check it out tomorrow and the water heater is only a year or two old so still under warranty, but what a pain.

Moving on to ugly: so this isn't totally cut and dried, because it's obviously partially very good. But also partially a disaster.

 Yep, disaster.

And lastly, this floor, which should be disappearing from the face of the earth tomorrow. The guys came and put leveling compound down today and will be back tomorrow to finish laying the floor. Take a good long look at this eyesore, because it's the last time.

Now, wish me luck. I'm going to go wash my face and go to bed, and hopefully the approximately 35-degree water doesn't give me hypothermia.